Legacy
by Nautica7mk
Summary: Father and son, and what they lost in between. This story takes place in the future.
1. Lost

**Title**: Legacy  
**Author**: Nadia Mack  
**Disclaimer**: I Own Nothing  
**Summary**: Father and son, and what they lost in between.  
**Author's Notes**: Here I go again…

"_Lost time is never found again." – Benjamin Franklin_

_Chapter 1: Lost_

In 2017, Lois Lane Kent disappeared and was later presumed dead after a disastrous explosion in a LexCorp Power Plant, leaving behind a husband and son, former Daily Planet partner Clark Kent and nine-year-old Jonathan.

_Twelve years later…_

Jonathan Lane Kent is now attending Harvard University for his graduate degree in law. After finishing high school with straight A's with honors, as well as a choice to attend any school he wanted, he decided that staying in Metropolis was the last thing he wanted.

After a long day of finals, he walked along campus with his Aunt Chloe, who came to visit him as much as her work schedule would allow.

"How's your dad?"

He merely shrugged. "I wouldn't know. You know him better than I do," he says, hiding his sadness from his tone.

"He loves you, Johnny" she reminded him.

"I know." That truth he couldn't deny.

"Then why the distance?"

"He can barely look at me for more than a few seconds before going off to wherever it is that he goes off to do," he lightly argued. The Mock Trial team back in high school as well as the training he's undergone in Harvard has taught him to calm his voice when getting into a debate or argument.

"You know that's not true"

"What do you want from me, Aunt Chloe?" he turned, complaining. There goes all that training. "Nothing's changed, as much as we try; we're still strangers to each other"

"Okay." She'll let the subject slide for now because she knew first hand how sensitive the topic is. "How about you, how's school?" 

Johnny gave her a weak smile. "School's school"

"I hear you made quite an impression in court the other day. Congratulations on your first win"

"It wasn't my win, Aunt Chloe. I was just helping out," he says. His humility is a part of his character, something his father and mother instilled in him when he was but a child.

Chloe looked at the boy that she's seen grow up since the day he was born. He looked so much like his parents. He had Clark's jet black hair and Lois's striking green eyes. The biggest similarity to his parents of all is his unwavering compassion to those that needed help.

Explains why he's studying to be an attorney, and from what she has observed, he'll be a great one.

She crossed her arm alongside him. "Come on, nephew. Let's go get something to eat." He smiles at her, a better one than before.

**To be continued…**


	2. Paralyzed

**Chapter 2: Paralyzed**

_"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway." - John Wayne_

_Metropolis_

There's an accident occurring atop of Metropolis' popular monorail, citizens fighting to survive the wreckage that has them hanging off a ledge and very near death if any of them should fall.

"Superman!" The crowd yelled in hysterics. "Superman HELP!"

In a blink of an eye, Superman saves the day. "It's all right, everybody. You're safe," he assured them before leaving them to the civilian help and flying away.

_Wayne Manor_

"Clark?" Bruce says as he exits his foyer, he found his long-time friend in his study. "What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if we could talk?" replied Clark.

"Sure. It's been lonely here lately, how's my Godson?" he says, pouring himself a drink. "Thirsty?" he asks Clark.

He shakes his head. "No, thank you." Clark removes his eye-glasses. "Jon's good. Won his first court case the other day," he softly beamed.

"I heard," Bruce smiled. The young man was just as strong-willed as his parents. He noted the diminished look on his friends face. "What's wrong, Clark?"

Clark inhaled deeply, gathering his thoughts. "I don't know anymore. The more I try to connect with him, the more I push him away," he tries to explain sadly. Since his mother disappeared, nothing has ever been the same. Clark couldn't even bring himself to admit that Lois is gone.

"It's been twelve years, Clark. You're not the only man here who lost her. We all miss Lois too"

Long before Lois's death, Bruce Wayne, Diana and all the rest of the JLA and JSA decided it was in baby Jonathan's best interest to keep their distance. He was legally Jonathan's Godfather, and Diana, also known as Wonder Woman, is his Godmother.

For the first three years of Jonathan's life, they were very much apart of it, but as he grew older, and a little more aware, they began playing the role of acquaintance and business associate, only glimpsing at him when he wasn't looking.

"Then why do I have this feeling like it isn't over?" Clark argued, defiantly. "Like there's something out there just beyond my reach?"

"I don't know," admits Bruce, finishing his drink. "You and Lois were married a long time. You made a child together. You've even been to hell and back together, I think it's natural that you still feel connected to her"

Clark didn't reply, for the life of him, he didn't want to, not to that.

_Harvard University, Fall Season_

Every morning, just before the sun would come up, Jonathan would run. He'd run as far and as fast as his legs can take him. In high school, besides his academic studies, he developed an interest in sports like basketball, soccer and track.

He avoided football like a plague. Not because he couldn't play, but because of two reasons. One, he can't imagine himself wearing tights and two, his father.

It was his game, so like any misguided teenager; he stayed far away from it.

Now that he's a little older now, he regrets not having to at least try.

Looking up into the morning sky, it started to rain. Jonathan starts to quicken his steps, and as rain hit floor, so did he.

"AH!" he gasped, falling to his knees on the pavement. He could barely breathe. He coughs, and coughs and coughs, both hands lay flat in front of him, the rain drowning it. He tries to breathe as his body suddenly chills.

Something fog like surrounds him, and before he could even contemplate what had just happened, his hands and knees were buried in ice.

He looked at it, scared yet astonished.

_What just happened?_

Slowly picking himself up, he noticed he barely put any effort removing his hands and knees up the frozen puddle of water.

"What the…" Looking at his hands, he felt completely unharmed.

**To be continued…**


	3. Burn

"_Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are." – Don Miguel Ruiz_

_Chapter 2: Burn_

Continued from Chapter 2: Paralyzed

Jonathan stared at his hands in shock. Despite the evidence around him, he could barely feel the cold. Shaken, he begins to run, running back to his dormitory as quickly as possible.

It all went completely downhill from there when his speed started going faster than his legs could carry. He stopped; unaware of how fast he had been going and he fell and tumbled straight towards a dumpster, bending it half.

"Ow!" he says, his head dazed from the impact. Lying on his back, he sat up, a hand to his head. "Jeezus!" he muttered under his breath, without a clue what was happening to him.

He stood up once more to try it again, this time; he was taking the early morning bus back and hopefully, no more strange incidents.

_Criminal Justice Class, Harvard University_

The next day, Jonathan was in class, completely distracted due to the events of the previous day. The ice, the speed, it had all been surreal. Twiddling a pencil with two fingers, he stares aimlessly across the room at nothing in particular.

That's when it happened.

His eyes burns and in an instant, the books on the professors desk light on fire, flames roaring to life.

"What in the world…" the Professor exclaimed upon feeling the fire near his skin. "Everyone Out!" he ordered the students.

They all followed, except one. A tall, well-dressed, lean black-haired man reacted quickly, grabbing a fire extinguisher, pulling the pin, and aiming it towards the growing fire.

And Jonathan just stood there, unable to move.

_Had I done that?_

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne"

"Not a problem, Professor"

"I don't understand how that happened. The fire department will be here shortly to assess"

"I'm sure it was all an accident"

"I surely hope so. Thank you again"

_Mr. Wayne? Why would he be here?_ Jonathan quickly made his way out the back door but was stopped by the voice below.

"Kent!" he heard, rarely anyone ever referred to him by that.

His heart starts to pound. The last past couple of days hasn't been going up to the standards he was normally used to. He was shooting fire out of his eyes, for heaven's sake.

"Yes?" Jonathan answered in a childlike voice.

"May I have a moment?"

Jonathan points to himself. "With me?" Why would a philanthropist of Bruce Wayne's caliber want to talk to him? Unless he saw him… impossible, he barely saw himself do it.

"Relax, son"

"I'm not your son," he reacts defensively.

Bruce Wayne doesn't take offense, but instead, just smiled. "No," he agreed. Then, "Just my Godson"

Jonathan stared at him in disbelief.

"Could you repeat that by me again?"

_A few minutes later_

Outside, in the courtyard, Jonathan stood side-by-side Bruce Wayne, trying to understand how this man, a man he barely knew, could be his Godfather. He then figured to just get on with it.

"What do you want from me?"

Bruce didn't turn to him, but he gave a small smile, he seemed to be in deep contemplation.

"I'm here to bring you to your father"

Jonathan stood still. "What?" he scoffs. "He could've came here himself, he didn't have to send you"

"He didn't," Bruce says to him. "I asked"

"Oh," Jonathan replied in defeat. Strike one for him. "Sorry"

Bruce shook his head knowingly aware of how confused the boy must be. "You're father and I knew each other long before you were born," he began his tale. "You see, your mother and…"

Jonathan's ears perked up at the mention and interrupted him immediately. "You knew my mom?" One minute, he looked like a lost little boy, the next; it seemed he was opening a present early Christmas morning.

"Yes, Jonathan, I did"

"You can call me Johnny. Everyone calls me Johnny"

He nods. "Then, yes, Johnny, I knew your mom"

"How did you know her?"

For years, everything Johnny knew about his mom came from his grandparents, his Aunt Chloe, and a few people she worked with at the Daily Planet like Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. His dad, however, kept things brief about what his mother was like, and it was his inability to open up to his own son one of the things that made him angry at him over the years.

"We were friends, confidants first before our status in the general public forced the three of us to share our friendship against prying eyes"

"I don't understand"

"You will," he assured.

"I miss her," Johnny finally confided to someone else not in relation to him.

"We all do"

"Why doesn't my dad want to talk about it?" he asks pleadingly. "I love him but I can't help but resent him too"

They stop in front of a helicopter with Wayne Enterprises insignia plastered on the side door. Johnny didn't even know that the campus had a helipad.

"Is this yours?"

"Yup," he smiled. He opened the latch and brought himself inside, putting the straps on himself.

"Are you flying this thing?" Johnny says wide-eyed.

Bruce gives out a soft chuckle. "Come on, Johnny. Your mom has flown birds like these since she was a teenager. Surely, you can manage the passenger's seat"

Johnny looked at him surprised, years of high quality education was lost on him. "Mom," he whispered, taking Bruce's… his Godfather's words to heart. With a single grip, he lifted himself inside.

**To be continued…**


	4. Unshed

**Chapter 4: Unshed**

_"You shouldn't regret something that once made you smile"_

On the helicopter ride to Metropolis, it had been quiet between Bruce and Johnny. The young man was confused by what was going on by the simple fact that he didn't know what was going on. Anxious and nervous at the same time, he waited to ask his questions when it was a little quieter, he could barely think.

"We're here," Bruce announced.

Johnny looked down and saw they were landing at an airstrip, with a private jet waiting on ground.

"This isn't the place?" Johnny wondered aloud.

"We're headed back to Metropolis"

Johnny turned. "What?"

"It's going to be all right"

"I don't want to be in Metropolis!" Too many memories resided there; he didn't want to relive them. "Please," he begged. "Couldn't I just meet him halfway?"

"I'm sorry, Johnny. I know you don't want to be there, and you're father knows that too, but there are things you need to know"

A quick flash of the last couple of days enveloped Johnny's mind, and he willed himself to follow his presumed 'Godfather's' orders. He and his father are going to have an interesting chat.

A couple of hours later, they arrive in Metropolis. Johnny avoided looking out of the window; he knew how much his parents loved it here. Despite the bustling streets and the economic popularity, it felt like a barren wasteland to him inside.

Johnny hated feeling weak in moments like these.

He wanted to get over it, live his life to the fullest, but there's that void, so present within himself that it won't leave.

"You ready?" Bruce asked, gesturing for him to leave the plane first.

Johnny quietly nods.

Stepping off of the few steps that led down to the ground, in the distance, Johnny saw the all-too-familiar figure of his father. He quickly straightened his shoulders and masked his face and walked towards him with confidence.

Clark quickly saw his son's changed demeanor, regretting that he should've done this sooner. They can't make up for the past, but he hoped they could pursue a future.

When he and his son were a few feet apart. "Hi Jonathan," he greeted warmly.

Johnny internally winced; his father was the only one that uses his full name occasionally.

"Dad," he returned.

There was silence.

"How are your eyes?" Clark asked, knowing his son would know what he was getting at. Bruce had called him before they departed Massachusetts. Jonathan's abilities were developing at a rapid rate.

Johnny looked temporarily confused at the question. There was nothing wrong with his eyes. And then, it dawned on him… he knew.

He quickly turned to glance at his Godfather, but he received a blank expression in return.

"What am I doing here?" he made himself to ask.

Clark took a deep breath, an action not lost on his son. "To tell you everything"

"The Daily Planet." Johnny stepped out of yet another helicopter. "What are we doing here?"

"You know that your mother and I worked for the Daily Planet when you were younger, right?"

Johnny looked at him in surprise. His father was talking about his mother, and he did so without sadness.

"I remember," he answered wearily. He's read countless of articles written by both his parents growing up. Sometimes, it was required reading.

"We spent a lot of time right here in this very spot," his father pointed out on the surrounding rooftop of the renowned newspaper building. "I asked her to marry me here," he revealed thoughtfully.

Johnny didn't know what to think of his father's sudden openness.

"Why are you doing this? Why now?"

"Because we kept things from you, we wanted to give you a life free of emotional complications. Even with the best of intentions, we ended up hurting you anyway"

"I don't…" then everything that's been happening to him in the last couple of days made semi sense. "You know, don't you… about what's happening to me?"

"After you were born, you were just a normal healthy baby boy, and after a while, your human DNA remained dominant. We thought it'd stay that way"

"What are you talking about?" Now Johnny was more than just confused. Talk of DNA and dominance were a little too much to comprehend.

"Come on, take my hand"

"What?" Johnny exclaimed, even more confused. "No!" Just then, his father turned his back on him and step on top of the ledge. Johnny begins to worry. "Dad, what are you doing?"

Clark, still with his back turned from his son, removed his glasses, letting it fall behind him, the lens crackling on the ground upon impact.

"Dad!"

His son's voice became distant. He deserved to know now.

To Johnny, he was growing scared of his father's actions. He's standing atop a ledge, hundreds of feet off the ground, what was he going to do? Fly!

"Take my hand"

"You're crazy"

"Trust me"

"How can I?" he argued. "You're going to jump!"

"No I'm not"

"Then what do you call that?"

Clark weakly smiled and finally turned to him. Johnny gasped when he saw the insignia that blazed across his chest. It was the symbol of Superman.

Johnny shook his head in disbelief.

"Please, son. Take my hand," he whispered in a low voice.

Without another word, Johnny took his hand and stared at him in wonderment as unshed tears glistened in his eyes.

**To be continued…**


	5. Change

**Chapter 5: Change**

"_It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power" – Alan Cohen"_

Johnny couldn't believe it. He was flying. No, they were flying. When he took a hold of his father's hand, he found himself floating off the ledge and into the air with nothing holding him down.

Superm… his dad held him close to his chest as he flew across the world seamlessly. The last time he felt this safe and protected was when his mother tucked him into bed for the last time.

He was so confused now.

There was surprise.

There was hesitation.

There was exhilaration.

Many questions swerved in his mind as the lights beneath him disappeared in and out through a blur of colors.

His father, Clark Kent, is Superman. How could he have not known? How could he have kept it from him? More importantly, how could he have not seen it himself? Have they grown that far apart that he wholeheartedly believed that Superman and his dad were two completely separate people?

He still processed the revelation.

His dad is Superman.

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

His dad carefully lands them atop of smooth ice. He has been completely and utterly speechless since flying off from Metropolis, he honestly didn't know what else to say.

"Wow"

Clark smiled.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll answer every one of them"

"Just like that, huh," Johnny suddenly found himself saying bitterly. "Sorry," he added, his emotions getting the better of him.

"No, I deserve that." Clark turned and looked around the fortress. "I wasn't the father I wanted to be"

"Why?" Johnny honestly wanted to know.

"When you were born…"

"Don't change the subject"

"Do you want an answer or not?" his father returned.

Johnny quieted and realized there was a point to what he was about to say. There was a brief silence before his father continued.

"When you were born, your mother and I promised that we both would be there for you, raise you together"

Johnny could not help himself but intrude. "So when she was gone you decided that I wasn't worth the trouble"

"No, that's not it at all"

Johnny was breaking down, and he knew it. "Admit it! You look at me and you see mom and that's why you stayed away!" he spat out angrily.

"You're wrong," his dad says softly and with all the love in the world.

"Then explain it to me! Please!" Johnny begins to shake, his tears visible. He was so angry; he took it out on a nearby wall, shattering it to pieces. He looked at it awestruck. "I did that?" he says staring dumbly at his hand, putting his pain aside and dealing with the changes he felt stirring inside him.

Clark saw the pure anger and emotion in his son's outburst and understood his need to express them. "Are you familiar with Sun Spots?" he changed the subject instead to help his son understand his lineage.

"Yeah," he nodded, his temper subsiding. "They're like Solar Flares, extreme magnetism around the sun that causes increase in radiation. What does it have to do with what's happening to me. I figured now that it was just genetics." This was wear he felt comfortable most. Knowledge. He's had plenty of it.

Clark shook his head knowingly, glad that his boy is as smart as he always knew he was. "The sun's what gives me my abilities. You're ancestors thrived on a planet called Krypton. Like Earth, they too had a sun, a Red Sun."

"Is what they say true? Krypton was destroyed?" He somehow managed to ask.

"The planet's core was unstable, and it was too late for them to do anything about it"

"So they sent you away," Johnny finished for him. He's heard the stories a thousands times from classmates, friends and teachers alike. Hearing it from the source was a bit… overwhelming and a little surreal.

"Yes"

"So our Sun is changing me?"

"The flares awakened your dormant Kryptonian DNA, and in a matter of weeks, maybe even days, you're abilities will emerge. I was 15 when I learned I wasn't as normal as I thought. You're 20 now, and I don't know what kind of surprises we're to expect, I wasn't ready for this"

"I wasn't ready to lose mom either, but what can I do," Johnny retorted.

"I deserve that too"

"I'm sorry, I'm just…" Johnny's confidence begins to waver once more at the painful subject and he begins to cry. "I… I miss her dad," he cried, sniffling in-between words. "I… miss her so much." Clark closed the gap between them and held him tight. Embracing him tightly as he did when he was a small boy.

"It's okay, I'm here," he tried to soothe. "I'm sorry too, I'm so sorry"

**To be continued…**


	6. Emerge

**Chapter 6: Emerge**

"_You will find as you grow older that courage is the rarest of all qualities to be found in public life." - Benjamin Disraeli _

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

"This place is huge, it's like it goes on forever." His dad gave him the basic tour of the Fortress he called 'The Fortress of Solitude,' and for the last hour he was at a loss for words. It was absolutely beautiful.

"It sure does feel that way a lot of times." Clark looked at his son's continued awestruck expression. "I brought you here before, but you were just a baby then. You'd run and up down these slopes right here," he pointed.

Jonathan smiled as he continued to look high up into the Fortress' ceiling. He could actually see himself doing that even now.

"So all these times you couldn't attend my games, the meets, you were actually out saving the world. What a way to make a guy feel selfish," he remarked sarcastically about himself.

"You weren't selfish, not at all"

"Yeah," Johnny replies unconvinced.

"If it's any consolation, I was there," his father revealed.

Johnny looks at him with a confused expression again. "What do you mean?"

"Like you're mother, I'm attuned to you. Anywhere I was on Earth I could hear you, know that you're okay. I heard your games. I was there in a way… I heard you make the winning shot against Dumont you're junior year, and the acceptance speech the following. I may have been a thousand miles away, but I was there"

His boy looked at him in total surprise again.

"Really?" he quite couldn't believe it. So his dad didn't really abandon him, not in the way he believed all these years.

"Yes, really," Clark smiled.

"Dad"

"Yeah"

"Why don't you talk about mom?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Jonathan. You were partly right before, seeing you sometimes was hard for me"

Johnny sunk his head low, at least his dad was honest.

"You have her eyes, her determination, her compassion. As time went by and as you got older, what was once a source of pain became a source of comfort. I'd watch you during practice, during lunch under that pine tree while you're studying." He smiles warmly, with a tear forming in his eyes. "I must've flown to your campus so many times last year just so I could listen to you sleep peacefully"

Johnny's eyes shot up to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid"

"Of what?"

"Of losing you anyway"

"You never lost me, dad. Never. It doesn't matter how many times you've watched me, you should've told me you were out there, it would've mattered"

"Would it?"

"To me! Yes, it would!"

"I guess we're both at fault"

"Yeah"

"Why don't you get some sleep, we've got a big day tomorrow. I fixed you a guest room"

"What, this place is its own Motel 6 too?" he says jokingly.

Clark smiles at that. "You can say it's reserved for the most important of people. What do you say?"

Looking around at his legacy once more, Johnny turned back and looked at his father with a genuine smile. "I'm thinking I'm really tired"

_Area 51, New Mexico_

Twenty-five floors beneath the Earth's surface, there was a laboratory. Millions of dollars worth of equipment surrounded the place.

In one room, lay a woman whose ankles and wrists were strapped onto a bed, holding her down but she remained unmoved.

Dead almost.

But she wasn't, she was very much alive and kept away from surface contact for over ten years. The monitors beside her bed emits a loud thumping sound.

Her heartbeat.

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic (The following Morning)_

Clark sets up a target for his son to use as target practice.

"Okay, son, give it a try"

He nods.

"Right," he replied a little nervous, focusing his eyes on the target. He's never tried it willingly before. When nothing, he looks at his father exasperated. "It's impossible"

"You're talking to someone that can fly, you're giving up too easily Jonathan"

"Easy for you to say," he says arguing the fact. "You had, what, over thirty years to get it right, you're giving me thirty minutes, it's not fair," he complained a bit.

"I swear you're stubbornness comes from your mother"

He shrugged childishly. "I wouldn't know"

"Son"

"Sorry," he repeats again like he has the past couple of days. "Natural reaction, I can't help that I'm defensive"

Clark smiles widely. "You're definitely you're mother's son"

"Can you tell me about her?"

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, really. Anything that the family hasn't told me, I guess. You were married to her, I'd think you knew her better than anybody"

"I still am married to her," Clark clarified, glancing at the wedding ring he still kept on his finger after all these years.

"So I take that I'm not the only one who can't let her go"

"No, you're not," his father replied honestly.

Noting his dad's sad expression, he went back to focusing on the target. "So how exactly did you get this heat vision thing to work?"

Clark eyed him graciously and then with a smirk. "Heat is the kind of word that implies numerous meanings," he says vaguely.

Looking at the target, Johnny answers. "You mean like… whoa!" he turned to his father, his face turning red. "You're not honestly saying what I think you're saying?" His father just remained silent. "Oh, come on dad! That's… restricted domain between parent and child"

Clark laughs. "You asked and I gave you an honest answer. If it makes you feel any better, I could leave, do a few rounds"

"Please!" his son insisted. Clark never imagined in a million years he'd be in this position with his son as he was with his dad twenty odd years ago.

"All right," Clark says, grinning at the situation.

_Around the World_

Clark changed into Superman and flew around the world, focusing his hearing for any catastrophe's or help that he could assist on. After a couple of hours, he decided to head back to the Fortress to see how his son was holding up.

The past couple of days have given them the time to truly be honest with each other, and to be father and son. It was also nice to be there and help him with his emerging powers.

Clark couldn't be anymore happier.

Just before heading back, he heard a scream for help in the distance, but then suddenly his head jerked at a different sound.

A familiar sound

A heartbeat.

Clark's eyes go wide at the implication.

"It can't be," he whispered.

**To be continued…**


	7. Discovery

**Chapter 7: Discovery**

_"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes." -- Marcel Proust_

_Area 51, New Mexico_

A head of the Area 51 Department approached a doctor, a clipboard in his hand. Staring at the file that read Lois Lane, he looked at him inquisitively.

"How's our patient, doctor?"

"Recovering quiet well, but I do have reservations though. Do you think it was wise to bring her back here?" She was previously held in a cell lined with lead and all other kinds of protective materials.

Going over the file beforehand, the explosion at LexCorp had a lot to do with Lois Lane's circumstance. Unbeknownst to the public at large, LexCorp has been developing bio-weapons for black market distribution. The patient in the white closed room was digging too deep, and when it was too late, she was swallowed by it.

Swallowed didn't mean death, but life, life elsewhere.

When the explosion took place, it inadvertently opened a hole to a whole other universe, reality, and she was sucked right in the middle of it. Like the rest of the world, they thought she had died along with everything else, so twelve years after the facility was sealed and closed off, that very same portal opened once again.

That was three months ago.

"How long until she's conscious?"

"Soon"

_High above Earth's atmosphere_

Clark, as Superman, focused his hearing on the familiar sound, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Whoever it was, it couldn't be her. But what if it was? Then, the sound became constant, a pulse of calmness.

It was there, present and it refuses to disappear.

He reached down to his belt, pressing a couple of buttons as he did so.

Com lines turn on.

"Bruce, do you hear me?"

"Superman, yeah I'm here. What it is?"

"I'm hearing sounds"

"That's um… usual my friend"

"No, I mean… I'm hearing her, Lois, my wife," he clarified.

A disjointed cough came out of the other line. His friend was having a hard time hearing the implication just as he had.

"Do you mind repeating that to me again?"

"I'm telling you, Bruce. It's her. It's Lois"

"Clark," he says through the secure line. "Lois is dead"

"Then I must be going crazy. Dammit, Bruce, I hear her heartbeat. That hasn't happened in twelve years; don't tell me I'm wrong about this"

"Have you checked the source? Whatever it is, I don't want you flying blind"

"I need you to head to the Fortress and be with my son. If it really is her, I don't know how he would react. I need you to be there for him, Bruce. Can you do that?"

"Of course"

"Thank you"

"Clark"

"Yes?"

"Be careful"

"I will thanks." As the line went silent, Superman hovered above the United States, using his x-ray vision to break through the layers of dirt and rock through the crust of New Mexico.

And that's when he saw it, a body. The heartbeat wasn't a fake, it was real and it's beating. He kept that image in his line of sight, and faster than a speeding bullet, he disappeared towards it.

**To be continued…**


	8. Held

**Chapter 8: Held**

"_There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." – Mother Teresa"_

_Above ground, New Mexico_

Superman dived towards Earth at an unimaginable speed. If Lois was being held captive, the people responsible were going to pay. The ground shook as he hit the hearth, shattering it like glass, he didn't need sight to know where he was going.

_Underground Facility, Area 51_

The compound was on a high Code Red Alert. The perimeter has been breached.

"Commander, your orders"

"Let him pass, I was expecting this"

"But sir…"

"LET him pass!" he ordered.

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

"Mr. Wayne?" Johnny looked at the billionaire surprised at his presence. "What are you doing here? How'd you find this place? Do you know about my dad?" he began asking questions like any normal child would, but then it all became immediately obvious considering the circumstances surrounding the secrecy of Bruce Wayne being his Godfather and his very own dad being Superman.

"Your father wanted me to stay with you"

"What do you mean? He was just going out for a few hours," he repeated from his earlier exchange with his dad. He looked at his watch, a gift his dad gave to him when he turned sixteen. It's been a few hours. "Where is he?"

"Jonathan"

"Something happened, didn't it?" Johnny already knew the answer to that question. After what he has learned since his time in the Fortress, despite how brief it had been, his dad wouldn't have left him if there wasn't a good reason for it. "What happened?" he asked once more.

"He found something," he answered cautiously. "We don't know for sure yet what it is"

"What is it?"

"It's more like 'who'"

"Okay, then who is it?" Johnny asked, worried.

"Maybe we should hold off and wait until your dad gets back," Bruce recommended but Jonathan Lane Kent stood steadfast.

"I'm a law student, Mr. Wayne, I can tell when someone wants to tell me something but can't. Please, tell me what's happening to my dad," he pleaded.

"Johnny, sit down and I'll explain"

_Underground Facility, Area 51_

"Jesus, Commander, what the hell is Superman doing here?" He saw Superman descend from the ceiling like a tornado through various security monitors.

"He's here for Lois Lane"

"How did he even know we had her?"

"According to her file, before the explosion, they had been good friends. I imagine her presence back on Earth alerted him, and now… well… he's come here for her." He pointed to another monitor where Lois Lane was being held.

"What do we do?"

"Play it by ear"

_Clean Room, Area 51_

Superman arrived without trouble. He scanned various rooms and noted some of them were lined with lead. His blood boiled at the possibility that someone didn't want him to find her.

He closed his eyes and focused on her heartbeat almost immediately.

There it was.

Beating

Relieved, Superman moved forward when a force field suddenly appeared, making him take a step backwards. It was designed with fragments of Kryptonite in it. They knew he would come, and that only meant one thing. The woman on the other side of this wall was his wife. It was Lois.

"Careful, Superman," a voice appeared over the intercom. "We mean you no harm"

"Then pull down your shields," Superman says, his voice never betraying his deep emotions.

"Not until we talk first"

"No"

"Superman, it's been twelve years, you can wait twelve minutes"

With no other choice, Superman had to agree to the terms. He needed answers as well, and whoever this person is could possibly provide him that.

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

Jonathan sat numbly. Bruce Wayne had just finished explaining what has been happening for the last half hour and where his dad has gone, but his thoughts on the situation became irrelevant once he heard the one name he thought would never be used in present tense ever again.

"Mom," he repeated to himself in a whisper.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Bruce asks in concern, all too aware of the impact his revelation made on the poor boy.

Johnny looked at him blankly. "Why wouldn't I be okay, you just told me my mom could be alive. Everything's just fine," he tried to make himself believe. After all these years, his mother could be alive.

"I know you're in shock right now, but I don't want to build your hopes up. This could just be another elaborate plan to get near your dad," Bruce says in an attempt to rationalize the situation.

"By using my dead mother," he replied with glistening eyes. One thought remained engraved in the forefront of his mind.

His mom is alive.

"Johnny, please." Bruce reached out to take his hands with his own, but he was met with resistance.

Johnny stood up and away from Bruce, brushing both hands through his hair as if the action would somehow give him all the answers. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing while his dad was out there alone, looking for what could be his mom.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Bruce says as Johnny quickly made his way towards the Fortress exits.

"What do you think? I'm going to help my dad"

"The hell you are. He put you under my charge; I'm not letting you go out there. In case you've forgotten, it's freezing out there"

"I'm invulnerable"

"Not yet, you're not. You're body is still adjusting to the changes, I'm not letting you walk out of here," Bruce defiantly argued against his Godson.

"My PARENT'S are out there!" In some hidden corner of his heart, it felt good saying that out loud and know that there was some truth to it.

Bruce gripped both his shoulders, shaking him. "Listen to me, Johnny! Your father knows what he's doing. If you're mom's alive and she's out there…" he loosened his grip on the boy. "He'll find her, okay." He saw the tears begin to fall from his eyes. "He'll find her"

More than anything, it'd be Bruce who'd know how it would truly feel to lose a loved one.

While Jonathan did lose his mother, he still had his father and grandparent's to share the love and loneliness he felt for most of his young adult life. He understood the child's need to go to his father and help, but he had to understand that remaining where he was is the best choice, despite it being the choice he didn't want.

_Conference Room, Area 51_

"Superman," the stranger announced. "It's an honor to finally meet you"

"Cut the chit-chat and tell me who you're holding captive?" Superman responded in a dominant voice, disregarding even the man's name.

"I assure you, Superman, we're holding no-one here captive"

"My sight explains otherwise"

"Believe me, Superman. Miss Lane is here strictly for observation"

His heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name. It truly was her behind those walls.

"Observation… why?" Until he puts down those shields, he had nothing else to do than fish for answers.

"After we sealed off the LexCorp Plant due to extreme levels of radiation, we kept up surveillance to monitor it in case something happens," he began to explain in detail. "Three months ago, our monitoring stations noticed an influx of energy occurring inside, and after days of negotiation, we made the decision to open it back up and see what was happening inside"

Superman stood sternly with arms crossed across his chest, both paying close attention and keeping a close ear to his wife's room.

"Imagine our surprise when we saw the long dead Lois Lane, huddled in the corner, shaking and barely clothed, uttering words we couldn't understand. She didn't speak a word, and wouldn't allow any of our specialists near her, but the radiation was so high, we couldn't risk the exposure, so we gassed her"

"You what?" Superman replies in anger.

"Sleeping gas, Superman," he added reassuringly. "Once we've stabilized her, we moved her to a secure location…"

"Lined with lead," Superman interrupted.

"It was lined with lead long before that, Superman. Even various other governments have made strides to keep super prying eyes and ears away from them"

Understanding the logic behind it, "Then what happened?" Superman had him continue.

"After we moved her, preliminary reports indicated that she was suffering from malnutrition, other than that, she was in remarkably good health"

"Has she…" Superman began to ask reluctantly.

"Changed?" He nods. "She aged just as normally as we have, other than that, we kept her rested." The man reached into his pocket and removed some kind of remote device. "I believe you wanted to see her," he says, pressing a button, aiming the remote on the far right wall. "It may be hard to believe, Superman, but not all government ran sanctions are corrupted"

Soundlessly, the wall descended and clear glass appeared before it.

Superman gasps, it was really her.

"Lois"

**To be continued…**


	9. Asleep

**Chapter 9: Asleep**

"_Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask." - X-Files_

_Conference Room, Area 51_

Superman watched her through the glass. She was so beautiful, despite her peaceful state. She was connected to various machines, and that upset him but he made sure not to reveal his feelings.

"Has she been asleep all this time?" It took all of him not to express how he really felt. He had to quell the urge to break through the wall and hold her.

"We've had her in intravenous fluids since her arrival, but we do wake her up regularly, re-acclimating her as best we can, but she hasn't spoken a word since we've brought her here"

"You mentioned she spoke earlier of another language"

"We've had the linguistic department work on it, so far, nothing," he concluded.

"How about her mental state?"

"Cohesive and non-violent, except…" He reached down on the table to flip open a file, he hands him a couple of hand sketched drawings. "Look familiar"

Superman held in his hand a drawing of their son when he was nine-years-old. "She drew this?" The man nods. Superman forced himself to hold back his smile, thankful that she remembered their son. He could only imagine how Jonathan would feel when he learns that his mother is alive.

"She dreams a lot," the man added, pressing another button on his remote. A plasma screen appears down from the ceiling. He turns the screen on, several images coming up at the same time, all of Lois on different days moving restlessly in her sleep.

Superman's heart breaks. She's hurting and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He feels so helpless. What has happened to her? Where as she been for twelve years?

"We don't know the specifics of what happened to her or where she has been, but she's alive and well now and our focus is getting her back on her feet"

"I find it hard to believe that you have no gain over this." There will always be that part in Superman that distrusts the government.

"Of course I have a gain over this. I'm a scientist, not a saint, but I'm not inhuman. I haven't hurt her nor do I intend to. What about you, what are your intentions. We've kept her resurrection confidential even in the highest of authority?"

"I'm here to bring her back to her family"

"Yes, about them." He nodded knowingly. "We're still trying to find the best way to approach her husband about his wife's sudden appearance"

"It's been three months, how long do you think you can hold her here?" he responded, holding his spite. He's had to hold a lot of emotions as of late.

"Judging by your countenance, not very long." He already resigned himself of the fact that Superman was going to leave with her.

"I'm taking her"

But he'll make him work for it first. "I don't think that's the best course of action, she's emotionally unstable"

"According to inconclusive results," Superman reminded him.

"It pains my ego to agree with you on that, but we have a 24/7 hour medical staff on hand to attend to her needs"

"So do the people who love her"

"Do you really think that's what's best for her?"

"Yes"

"Then I have one request"

"Name it"

"You give us a bi-weekly update on her progress and I'll see about making sure that you don't have any problems on our end"

"It's that simple?" he replies skeptically.

"Superman, I'm a man of science, not a power-hungry businessman. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. Simple as that"

"Then you have yourself a deal," says Superman. At the moment, this was the best solution he can find without putting anyone in harms way, especially his wife. As the wall between him and his wife disappeared, the man moved to her machines and carefully removed the attachments. When he was finished, he backed away.

Superman moved next to her, looking her up and down, x-raying her to make sure nothing was broken. Satisfied, he moved his hands slowly underneath to lift her close to his body.

"Thank you." Just as he was about fly off, he turns to him. "Before I leave… what's your name?"

The middle-aged scientist smiled. "H.G. Wells"

"Herbert George Wells," Superman returned in surprise.

He shook his head and laughed. "No, Howard Gregory Wells," he corrected. "There is no blood relation between me and the author, but my parents did find it amusing"

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

"How are you holding up?" Bruce asks Jonathan, he had just got off communications with his father seconds ago. The heartbeat he heard was in fact, Lois's. Now, he was going to face their son and tell him the news.

The boy shrugged indifferently, the feeling of numbness still inside of him. "I don't know what to think anymore," he admits, failure evident in his voice.

Powers beyond his imagination was growing day by day inside of him. His father is Superman, the greatest hero who lives. And now, his mother may very well be alive after believing that she's been dead for twelve years.

The last forty-eight hours has been a rollercoaster ride he never expected to jump into.

"I just got off the COM link with your dad." Johnny' head shot up at the mention. "He's on his way back"

Johnny swallowed hard in response. "Is she… with… him?"

Bruce nods. "Yes, she is"

He stifled his cry. "So mom's… really alive," he says softly, not quite believing it yet. He was both anxious and scared at the same time.

Johnny was grateful to receive a comforting hand by Bruce, and for the first time since learning of their connection, he saw him not just as a rich philanthropist, but as his Godfather.

It'll only be a matter of time until she arrived; he got up quickly and made himself ready. After so many years, he didn't want her to think that he forgot his manners.

Bruce simply smiled.

_In the Air_

They left New Mexico ten minutes ago, and in her condition, Superman decided to take the flight to the Fortress slow, holding her carefully and lovingly in his arms, while at the same time the feeling of never wanting to let her go consumed him.

She was here, in his arms, and he was really holding her.

The years passed has matured her beautifully, despite her tired expression. Every once in a while, she'd move, clutching onto the red cape he wrapped around her fragile frame.

He smiled at that. He's missed her so much that even the smallest of gestures made him happy.

And now she was home, and when she's ready, she'll see her little boy. He was thrilled for their reunion, yet regretful that they lost so many years. They'll just have to take this a day at a time.

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

"You're father is close by," Bruce yelled across the room, indicating through the crystallized computer module Clark had taught him how to use so many years ago.

"Do I look okay?" Johnny stepped up to him nervously.

Bruce grinned at the boy. "I don't think you'll have to worry about how you look, Johnny. According to your dad, your mom is going to be a little out of it for a while"

He shrugs. "Doesn't mean I shouldn't be prepared"

"Fair enough… You look great"

"Thanks," he beamed.

Bruce looks up and sees the familiar colors of red and blue. "Here he comes"

Johnny took a deep breathe before turning. "Da…" his mind stopped when he saw the familiar figure nestled protectively in his arms. "Mom," he whispered longingly.

Clark felt her stir in his arms when his son uttered her name. He looked up to see his son entranced. "Help me to her room"

Johnny stood frozen. "Huh?" His eyes still focused on his mom.

"Son. Room. Now," his father rephrased.

Johnny looked up apologetically. "Sorry dad," and lead him to her room. When his father laid her gently atop the bed, Johnny whispers to him in a low voice. "Can I stay with her?"

Clark eyed his son sympathetically; he knew how he felt because he was feeling it too. Now that she was back, he wasn't sure if he could ever let her out of his sight. His son seems to feel the same way too.

"Of course you can"

Johnny smiled brightly as he took a gentle hold of one of his mom's hands. He stayed close, seemingly content sitting by her side for however long it would take. He had his mom back and that's all that mattered.

Clark thanked the stars for reuniting his family back together, but before he can truly relish her return, he had to know what has happened to her. She'll be waking up soon and he didn't want to frighten her.

He needed to speak to Bruce.

**To be continued…**


	10. Rise

**Chapter 10: Rise**

"_Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself." – Walter Anderson_

Johnny didn't know how long he had been watching her but he did. His father had been there with him majority of the night, but some time in the early morning a natural catastrophe befell the U.S. West Coast and Jonathan urged his father to help.

So he did, albeit reluctantly, but he was reassured knowing that his son wouldn't leave her side.

It was more than fine. Johnny stayed behind with his mom, not wanting to leave her again. He watched her breathing rise and fall, and every once in a while, she'd squeeze his hand and he'd smile at the unconscious gesture.

"Clark," she whispers in her sleep, her head quivers left and right. "Johnny," she muttered.

Johnny's heart raced as he listened to his mom say their names. She was having a bad dream again; he could tell by the way she was shaking. He leaned forward onto the bed, resting his hand above his mother's forehead. "Shhh… its gonna be okay now, mom, you're safe," he says in a low calm voice.

A tear drop fell at the corner of his eye. "I love you," he declared openly even in her sleeping form. He buried his head on her stomach. "I missed you so much." He felt a hand sweep across his hair, and for a moment he froze before looking up.

Staring at him were familiar eyes he hasn't seen in over ten years, eyes that bore his own. Eyes that was open, glistening with tears that didn't fall.

"Jonathan?" She spoke out softly in uncertainty. Her hand outlined his face as if she was trying to discover his true identity.

He held the urge to cry further and answered her. 

"Mom"

Her body shook as she took in the revelation, and as one hand held one cheek, the other soon followed and before he knew it, he was held in her embrace.

"Johnny!" she says out loud, her grip tightening around him.

"It's okay, mom. You're safe, we're never letting you go," he whispers to her as he gladly did the same.

Moments after their emotional reunion, Johnny continued to remain by her side. She hasn't said a word since she realized that he was her son. His dad once told him that she hated uncomfortable silences, but in a situation such as this, there were exceptions.

She held both his hands with her own for a while before finally speaking. "Where's your father?"

Johnny slightly jumped at the sound of her voice. She's really real.

"There was an earthquake in California, Mr. Wayne told me he was doing some 'damage control'" he explained without question.

"Mr. Wayne?" His mother repeated before her eyes went wide, recalling the name. "Bruce is here?"

He nodded. "He's in the control room," he says. "I didn't want to leave you," he adds in a childlike voice, memories of the time he spent with her as a child flooding the forefront of his mind.

"You are so handsome," she proclaimed, her eyes filled with pride. She let a hand brush down the side of his face. "I almost lost hope that I'd never see you again"

Johnny looked away, ashamed.

"What's wrong?" She asks in a motherly tone. He missed that sound.

"We thought you were dead," he weakly answered. "There was… an explosion… and you were in it…" he begins to sob again. "I'm sorry mom"

"What? No…" she pulled him in onto the bed and held him close, cradling him as she did when he was a child in her arms. "None of this was your fault, okay," she assured in a soft voice near his ear. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere"

She suddenly felt like they weren't alone. As her son's soft cries subsided, she looked up and saw an old friend.

"Hello Bruce"

"Lois," he replied, thrilled to see her and that she remembered. There were concerns that her memories were toyed with after so many years, so he was greatly relieved. "You look terrible"

Lois chuckled at the attempt on light humor. "Thanks." She looked down on her grown son, he didn't seem to want to let her go anytime soon, which was fine by her. She didn't want to let go of him either.

So much time between them lost.

"How long will my… husband… be gone?" she was unsure whether or not Clark had remarried. Judging by how grown up her son has become, she imagines that it's been at least ten, eleven, maybe even more years has passed.

Johnny finally took the initiative to let go of her for a while, he didn't want to crowd her even though he knew she didn't mind. Besides, he heard the hesitancy in her voice when she asked about dad and he wanted to alleviate her worries.

"Don't worry, mom. Dad never remarried"

Lois sighed in relief and reacted towards her heart, removing the gold diamond wedding band she wore around her neck, it was only the few things she had on her that still connected her to her past life.

"Johnny, do you mind if I could speak with your mother alone for a bit?"

Johnny's immediate thought was 'not now' but then he realized Bruce and his dad were trying to get to the bottom of his mom's disappearance.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," his mother assured. Johnny stood up for the first time all night and slowly stepped away, but not before giving his mom a kiss on the forehead.

"If you need anything, just scream," he insisted.

She laughed at her son's protectiveness. "I'll do that," she winked at him. He smiles broadly; he already knew he was going to love having her back in his life again.

Once he was out of earshot, Lois turned to Bruce with serious eyes. "How long have I been gone?"

"We could talk about that later"

"How long?" she pursued.

He sighed at her stubbornness. "Twelve years," he answered finally.

She put a hand on her forehead as if to stop an impending headache. "Twelve years," she repeated his words. It shocked her yet it didn't.

"Didn't you know?"

"They didn't exactly have a 365 day calendar where I was at," she quipped honestly.

"Where exactly were you?" he asked her in curiosity. He has gone back and forth with the detailed reports Clark had returned with from Area 51. So far, he too has found no more information than Dr. Wells.

"Not now"

Bruce understood her need for space and let it go for now. He decided to choose another topic of discussion.

"Clark knows you're awake, he'll be back any minute now"

Lois eyed him worriedly. "How is he?"

"He missed you," he replies truthfully. "He's had a hard time letting you go. To be honest, I think he was the only one in the entire world that knew you were alive somewhere"

She smiled at the thought, that's her man. Then, she frowned further. "You all really thought I was dead"

"No traces. Twelve years. The evidence was there," he explained in a matter-of-fact manner. He saw her shiver, and noted her tired expression. "Why don't you get some more sleep, Clark will be back soon and you two could talk"

She forced her eyes open. "I've been asleep long enough, Bruce"

"Yeah, well, that's because the men in white coats had you under heavy medication. We're going to make sure you get back on your feet naturally without any drugs in your system, okay"

"Bruce"

"Sleep, for your husband and son's sake," he insisted.

"You always use them against me," she smiled, her eyelids falling heavily closed.

Bruce smiled relieved that she was resting again. They've got plenty of time now to figure things out. Just then, Johnny walked back in.

"Is mom all right?" It was god saying 'mom' again.

"Yeah, she's just tired"

"Did she say anything about what happened to her?"

"Not really, but I'm going to leave that up to your dad. He knows her better than anyone"

"Can I stay with her again?"

Bruce smiled. If he had discovered that his parents were alive after so many years of thinking otherwise, he would have done the same. "You know you can"

**To be continued…**


	11. Immortal

**Chapter 11: Immortal**

"_The stars shall fade away, the sun himself grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, but thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, unhurt amidst the wars of elements, the wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds." – Joseph Addison_

_Fortress of Solitude, Arctic_

Superman returned to the Fortress quickly changing back into his human identity. He already felt his wife awaken hours earlier and felt guilty he couldn't be here when she did. When Bruce notified him of her status and the joyful look in his son's face when she awoke, it was enough to suppress his regret.

"How is she Bruce?" he asked as he approached his long-time friend.

"To be perfectly honest, it's really her," he admitted finally. "I didn't want to believe it, but that's really your wife in that room"

He had already known that it was the moment he felt her heartbeat. "I'm nervous," Clark confessed. It's been so long and now that she's finally within his grasp, he's at a loss for words and movement.

"That's ridiculous," Bruce sneered. "You should've seen Johnny in there, ever since she woke up it's been Christmas morning for him." The image of his Godson so happy brought a smile to his face.

It was that thought that brightened Clark up and helped clear his nerves. After a few moments of careful deliberation, he stepped forward only to suddenly step back. He slumps his shoulders in defeat and retreated across the Fortress, pacing back and forth from the same location.

After a couple of minutes, "You're driving me crazy, you realize that don't you," Bruce uttered before him.

"I'm sorry; I'm just a little…"

"Nervous," Bruce finished for him. "Yeah, I get that." He walked up to him like he has so many other times before whenever he was in doubt, Lois was always better at this than he was.

"Half of you is lying in that room," Bruce pointed out to her direction. "Best you get yourself over there before the world decides to separate the two of you for another twelve years"

Clark took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Thanks," he replied gratefully.

"Anytime"

_Lois's Room, FOS_

At last, Clark walked into her room and the image before him warmed his heart. Their son, Jonathan Lane Kent was snuggled next to his sleeping mother. They looked so peaceful. So serene. Like the world was put right somehow.

As he stepped closer, her eyes fluttered open and when it did, Clark felt like he was free-falling.

"Hi," she mouthed silently to him. Seeing him in the flesh made her just as nervous as he was. It's been so long.

Clark held back a big smile and silently returned her 'hi' with a 'hi' of his own. He walked up to them and pulled the chair his son had used several hours earlier and set it besides the bed. Regardless of the fact that their son is now twenty years old, next to his mother, he looked like a little boy.

Clark even went as far as contemplating the idea of carrying him off the bed so he could speak with Lois by himself, but then he quickly quenched the concept in fear of being on the receiving end of his son's wrath.

"How do you feel?" he managed to finally say in a whisper. Seeing her eyes stare into his own was making him lightheaded, it overwhelmed him even.

She takes a sideways glance at their sleeping son. "Better," she says her face smiling. "You did good," she adds when a sudden chuckle was expressed from their child.

He wasn't as asleep as they both thought.

Johnny awoke only a few seconds after his parent's initial greeting. He peeks one eye over to his dad who was looking at him with a sly grin.

Lois saw the exchange and was slightly amused and overly curious.

"I'm missing something." She saw it coming a mile a way, and even though she was saddened that she missed twelve years of her family's life, she was just thankful they were together again.

"It's nothing," Johnny waved off, but his mother was not as dismissive. "I'll leave you two to talk a bit, catch up." He smirked widely getting off the bed.

As she watched him walk out, she looked at her husband truly for the first time in so many years before saying… "Explain"

"Later," he quickly replied reaching across the bed and enveloping her in a long overdue kiss. He missed her so much, and judging by his wife's own response to him, she missed him too.

After several moments, they finally broke apart, slightly gasping for air.

"I should disappear more often," she remarked in jest.

His brow furrowed. "Don't even joke about that," he replied seriously, cupping her face with his hands.

Lois immediately took back her words. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it to come out like that"

Clark pulled her in once more, kissing her, holding her, never ever wanting to let her go. "I almost stopped believing," he whispered in her ear as he held her lovingly. He could do this forever.

"There were times I did too," she replied emotionally. These past several years has been one act of survival after another, and in truth, she wanted to quickly put it behind her.

"Normally, I'd barrage you with questions but right now I just want to hold you, so I'm just going to go ahead and cling to you, okay"

"I completely condone the action." His calm voice and warm embrace was a welcoming presence. There were endless moments of situations drowning her in weakness, so she relished the love and safety her husband shared with her, and that seemed to only grow strong with time even though they have been separated for so many years.

"I love you," she expressed softly, half-expecting not to hear anything in return.

But he did return her love, and it made the moment entirely real to her.

"I love you so much, Lois," he began to cry. Years of emotional seclusion breaking its way through the closed wall he's built inside himself. "We've got a lot to catch up on," he continues softly.

She held onto him tighter.

"Just hold me Clark, and don't let me go," she too cried in his arms.

"I'll never let you go"

_A Week Later_

They were still staying in the Fortress, adjusting back into a life that has long moved on without you can be overwhelming, but to Lois, she merely reacted to it indifferently. To her, all that mattered was her husband and son. Everything else was of insignificance.

They kept her return quiet for now. Not even Clark's parents knew. I guess it's a way of preparing herself once they all do know that she's very much alive and well. Last thing they wanted was media attention and exploitation.

Bruce headed back to Gotham to do some errands while the reunited family spent the next few days talking, Clark growing happier by the day. 

Later that week, Lois was extremely upset upon learning of the lack of relationship her husband and her son shared prior to her reappearance, but was pleased that they began making strides to a better relationship.

It was evident that love isn't what they lacked; it was communication, which surprised her most because she and Clark communicated like no other. Communication was something Clark grew up with on the Kent Farm, whereas Lois sort of just grew into it.

And then there's Jonathan…

Now that's a name that always brings a smile to her face. She knew naming him after PaKent would be good luck. She has learned so much about him. He's an athlete and an academic, which she no doubt inherited from his father, and attending Harvard University on a full Academic Scholarship.

This boy, this young man is a part of her and Clark. She was more than just proud of him, she was awestruck.

And then there's that part about Jonathan's emerging abilities. That surprised her above all else. After nine years of no abilities, she actually believed that he was born into the world like any human child. Normalcy is a term they hardly used anymore because seriously, who needs normal.

His super speed made its presence known shortly after her arrival, so once she returns to Metropolis, Johnny could travel back and forth from Boston in a matter of minutes. It felt nice, to see how taken he is of her. She regretted deeply how she couldn't be there for him as he grew up.

She was going to try like hell to make up for it in the present and future.

_Kent Estate, Metropolis_

"How's Lois?" Bruce stopped by the Kent Estate to pay a visit to his close friends and family. It's been three weeks now since they found her.

Clark smiled. "She's doing all right. She hardly leaves the house though," he x-rayed upstairs and noted his wife's presence.

"Has she talked about it yet?"

He shook his head dejectedly. "I don't think she ever wants to talk about it. The nightmares aren't going away, and whenever she wakes up, she avoids it." He brushed a hand threw his hair. "I feel completely helpless"

"Give her time"

"I'll give her all the time she needs, but it'd be nice to have a little reassurance"

"Then ask her"

"I don't know how." Clark sighs. "What if it means bringing up bad memories?"

"You'll never know until you try"

_Courthouse, Boston_

Jonathan Lane Kent had just won his first case on his own after the lead defense attorney couldn't make it due to his wife going into labor just ten minutes before the court session started. He had no choice but to jump in with the aid of his professor, who approached the judge and expressed confidence in his abilities.

After shaking every person's hand that reached out to him, Johnny looked up to see a familiar face. He stood still, subconsciously shaking people's hands when he starts to move away from them and towards the person in his line of sight.

He breaks out into a sprint and rushes to her with a big smile on his face.

"Mom!" Johnny called out. "What are you doing here?" He was going to run back to Metropolis later in the evening to spend the weekend with his parents.

She shrugged. "Wanted to see what all the commotion was about. Congratulations, you're becoming a force to be reckoned with," she praised having seen his performance.

Jonathan nodded embarrassingly.

"I see that instant gratification is not your forte," she observes knowingly.

"Not really." He hugs her. "I'm glad you're here"

She returned his hug gladly. "I'm glad to be here, too. I had to pull your father's arm to fly me over, I'm relieved I still got the touch," she smiled thoughtfully.

Johnny chuckles, his mother's sense of humor never gets old, but then he notices her faraway look.

"Are you okay, mom?"

"What?" She shook her mind away form her thoughts. "Yeah, of course"

"Are you sure?" Johnny pressed.

She nodded assuring him. "I'm sure"

"You're lying"

"Johnny"

"Mom, please. You don't talk about it, how can we help you if you don't talk about it?"

"I'm just sorting through my thoughts, that's all"

"We can help"

"I know you can"

"So why don't you let us. Dad's worried about you, and so do I"

She smiled at him, pride seeping through her eyes as she watched her son care for her so much despite the years missing. She closed her eyes and thought back. It was like a never-ending story.

_Flashback, twelve years ago_

When the dust cleared, Lois awoke with a throbbing headache. Last thing she remembered was a big bright light that engulfed her. After that, everything went blank.

She sat up, spreading her legs in front of her and dusting the remaining debris off. Looking around herself, she noticed the feeling of grass beneath her fingers. Interesting, she had been in LexCorp Plant in the middle of the desert; she didn't recall seeing grass around.

Once she gathered herself up, she cleared her vision and saw herself in unfamiliar territory.

"Oh no," she says to herself as she looked around with wide eyes and confusion. "Where the hell am I?" she uttered out loud as she gazed out into a magnificent landscape that showed towers twisting high into the sky. An unknown civilization descended at her feet.

This was far from Kansas and Lois knew she was in trouble.

End of Flashback

"Mom?" Lois heard her son call for her. She shook herself out of her frozen reverie and stared him in the eye. "Where'd you go?"

"I was just remembering"

He nodded and waited for her to continue. "I can wait if you want me to," he says when she didn't continue.

She gripped her son's hand with her own and kissed his cheek gratefully. "Thank you, sweetie"

He smiled. "All right, why don't we head over to this ice cream shop I know down the corner? They've got the best shakes in town"

Lois was eager to spend time with her boy. "Lead the way." They'll be plenty of time to go over everything that's happened to her for the last 12 years, even though she wasn't looking forward to it.

**To be continued…**


	12. Hope

**Chapter 12: Hope**

_"Where there's life, there's hope." - Terence_

_Kent Estate, Metropolis_

Lois has pretty much settled in as best she could. Other than Clark, Jonathan and Bruce, she hasn't made any efforts to contact anybody else. She has, though, on a number of occasions, picked up the phone and dial Martha's number only to hang up before she could get to the first ring.

She wasn't ready yet. She didn't know if she ever would be.

Watching the sun set from her couch, she was entangled in her memories of the last twelve years. They won't allow themselves to go away.

As she tried not to think about it, there was a knock on the door.

"Hello." A woman walked in with long wavy dark black hair.

She looked familiar.

"Diana?"

The woman smiled. "Hey you," she greets in a soft caring voice.

Lois eyed the woman who had become one of her closest friends. Family. She hasn't seen her just as long as Clark and Jonathan. "You've barely aged," she observed thoughtfully.

"You're as beautiful as the day you left, Lois." With an elegant grace, Diana closed the gap between them and embraced her. Lois returned the gesture sincerely.

Letting go, Lois smiled weakly but she was still very grateful to see a familiar face.

"How's Themyscria?"

"Thriving." Diana tilted her head to the side, as if a single look will answer all her questions. "How are Kal and Jonathan?"

"Happy," she answered with a smile, but then it faltered. "Well, their happy around me, but I can tell they're worried"

"You talk so little of your experience." Diana hadn't meant to bring it up so soon, but once it left her lips, there was no turning back.

Lois frowned. "I see you've been talking to Bruce…"

"And your husband"

"I seem to be the subject of a lot of conversations," she sighed.

"We're just all worried about you." Diana spun to watch the sun set out in the horizon through the window. The sudden move showed a glint of her golden lasso.

Lois subtly shook her head at the sight and moved immediately to her side that it caught Diana off guard. Lois removed the lasso and wrapped it around her hand.

"Ask me," Lois calmly demanded.

Diana remained silent, guilt overwhelming her. When Bruce announced to the Justice League that Lois Lane Kent was alive, they all beamed with joy. And after Bruce's very brief explanation in regards to her disappearance, Diana felt everyone was being far too welcoming.

She could be an imposter. A very good one. It isn't' like it never happened before.

Diana wanted to know the truth. Lois is… was a dear friend. A great friend. Family. If this woman really is an imposter, there would be hell to pay that no God will be able to stop her.

"Ask me," Lois says once more.

When nothing…

"Ask…"

"Are you who you say you are?" Diana finally spoke; it was the only question she wanted answered. "Because if you're not, I will strike you dead right at this moment"

Lois did not react to her threat. Frankly, she was appreciative.

"Yes"

Diana smiled, relieved. That is all that it took. She began removing the lasso from Lois's hand but Lois resisted.

"Ask me another question"

Diana was surprised. "Why?"

"Please"

The one question that has been on everybody's mind, including her family, "Where have you been all these years?"

Lois lowered her head, staring the golden lasso she held around her hand. She's always known that truth is a powerful instrument.

"I won't answer that," Lois says, relinquishing her grip.

Diana didn't know what to make of this. "Anyone under the power of the lasso cannot refuse to answer"

"Anyone but me," Lois explains. "I can't lie, but I can choose not to answer. So I'm not"

"How is this possible?"

Lois closed her eyes shut; those were the exact same words she used all those years ago.

_"This can't be happening. I have to get back. You need to bring me back."_

For the past three days, Lois restlessly tries to find a way home. She walked through the forests that seems to never end. Finally, through miles of trek, she found another person, a woods guide.

At first, she didn't understand the language but in some twist of fate, in a matter of days, she had learned it. It's becoming abundantly clear that this land is clearly beyond her comprehension.

"I am truly sorry, but there is no life beyond the boundary in which you claimed you have crossed"

"Listen to me, Richard. I have a family. I have a husband and a son waiting for me back home. I have to get back. I need to. It has to be some form of magic, please help me!"

"That's impossible. Magic is forbidden here in Westland. No one practices such things, and neither should you"

"If it brings me back, then it's a risk I'm willing to take"

"Please, there is no magic here, I swear. I've lived in these woods my entire life; no one has ever breached the boundary. Anyone that's done so has never returned to tell the tale."

"You're no help to me whatsoever!" she says angrily. Walking briskly away but not too far as to get lost. She sat against a tree trunk, wiping the tears from her eyes. "This is not possible. This can't be happening," she mumbled to herself. All she could think of is her family. Clark. Jonathan.

"Unfortunately, my dear, it is," an old calm voice said behind her.

Lois shot up and looked at the old man deftly in the eyes. He was a skinny old man with plain robes, white unkept hair and a clean shaven face.

"Who are you?"

He bowed kindly before her. "I am Zedd, the local cloud reader"

"Cloud reader?" Lois wondered briefly if it's another word for the word weatherman. "What do you want?"

"I heard a woman ask for help, perhaps I could"

Lois's eyes lit up with hope. 

"Are you all right, Lois?" Diana's voice took Lois out of her thoughts.

She simply shook the concern away. "No but I will be," she assured the Princess.

Diana respects her privacy. "Very well then." She hugs her once more. "Call me, for anything," she tells Lois.

"Thank you, Diana"

When the Amazon Princess was gone, she headed back to her couch and cuddled in the corner. Even back home her nightmares never ends.

**To be continued…**


	13. Fear

**Chapter 13: Fear**

"_The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt_

The days went by and her memories cease to give her any peace. The only moments in which her mind rested was in the presence of her son and husband. They were the light in her never ending tunnel of darkness. If only closing her eyes were enough to make them go away.

"Mom. You home!" Johnny called out, coming home a bit tired from a long day of classes.

Johnny waited a second for an answer and when he didn't get one, he looked around only to find the house empty.

"Mom!" he yelled again.

There was no reply.

Immediately, he began to panic and super speeded through every room of the house. When he reached her room, there was still no one there. Then, his hearing picked up a faint sound. He rushed towards the window and looked all around the back yard. Despite being new to his powers, he's grown rather adept to them in such a short time.

Focusing his eyes towards the tool shed, he x-rayed through it and saw a body lying motionless behind it. A wave of fear enveloped Johnny as he speeded out of his home and to his mother.

"Mom! Mom!" he kneeled before her, checking for her breathing and pulse. Thankfully, she was still with him. "Stay with me, mom," he whispered, scared. "Dad!" he screamed. "Dad! Help me! It's mom!"

He felt a gush of wind brush behind him while he held his mom's head atop his lap.

"Dad," he says softly.

"I'm here." Clark moved to Lois's other side. He had no idea something had happen to her. He could hear and feel the beating of her heart, it was always there. Regular. Unharmed. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I came home. She was like this when I found her. Is she okay? Why isn't she waking up?" Johnny lightly shook her. "Come on, mom. Wake up. You can't leave us again." He wipes the tears forming in his eyes.

"Let's get her inside." Clark scooped her up, Johnny never lets go of her hand as they both carried her into the house, settling her carefully on the bed.

"Call Bruce, Johnny"

"Dad," he began to protest.

"Now!"

Johnny does what he's told.

Bruce quickly arrived and did the best he can to scan Lois of any unusual affects. Twenty minutes later, they found nothing to would explain her collapse and why Clark didn't sense any irregularities when she did so. Johnny, on the other hand just wants to know if his mother is okay.

"Uncle Bruce, how is she?"

Bruce puts a supporting hand on the young man's shoulder. He's been through a lot but he knew he could get through anything. He is the child of Lane and Kent after all.

"Why don't you see for yourself"

Johnny quickly moves pass him and into his parents room. The sight before him sent him waves of relief. His mom was awake and looking okay.

"Mom," Johnny uttered softly.

His parents look up.

"Hey," she says with a smile and before she knew it, she was engulfed in his embrace. He tries hard to stifle his sobs. "Shh…. It's okay. I'm okay. Everything is going to be okay"

_In the hallway_

Clark gives his wife and son some time alone. It's going to take a while until Johnny feels comfortable enough to let his mother out of his sight. He smiles at how protective their son is when it comes to his mother but saddened that it had to happen in the face of tragedy.

"He's a great kid, Clark"

"He gets it from his mother"

"You're being too modest. You and Lois raised him well"

_In the room_

Lois and her son spent the first few minutes in comfortable silence. Johnny seemed content to just sit besides her. She mused at how well he takes to being silent where as a teenager, and even as an adult, she absolutely loathed it.

"How's school?"

"Fine"

"Johnny," Lois began softly and Johnny's eyes stare up with her filled with childlike innocence. "If I ever leave you, it would never be by choice"

Johnny nodded, knowing it was the truth but it didn't make the reality of the situation any easier to bear.

"What happened to you mom? Where did you go? I thought if we waited, you'd tell us, but I see now that you don't want to talk about it at all. I want to know. I want to know who took my mom from me"

A part of Lois knew her son would pursue the question further than her husband and a part of her couldn't help but be proud of him for that. When he first came into their lives, she couldn't believe that he was hers. He was their miracle. Their child.

Her husband.

Her family.

That's what matters to her now.

And he was right, they needed to know, but is she ready to walk down that path all over again?

**To be continued…**


End file.
